Half of Some California Counties have Burned from Wildfires

It is an astonishing fact that according to the NY Times, Half Their Land Burned in a Decade: The California Counties Constantly on Fire

These counties include: Lake; Plumas; Napa; and Trinity Counties. Tehama and Butte Counties have had 40 and 38% burn respectively. The fires being counted are since 2014.

As for attribution of causes, there is this, “ While lightning caused several recent wildfires of historic proportions, human activity is the source for the vast majority of ignitions in the country. Of the 20 largest wildfires in California, seven were caused directly by people, and three by damaged power lines.” In total more than 800,000 acres have burned so far in 2024.

The numbers above will cause anyone to sit up and take notice. Think about your own county and having over 50% of it burn over a series of years from wildfires. It can be economically and emotionally devastating to the people and communities who live there.